Whitehouse Launches Investigation into Trump Administration’s Nearly $1 Billion Payoff to TotalEnergies to Abandon Offshore Wind Projects

Dubious deal undermines the transition to clean energy at the expense of American families and could violate federal law

Washington, D.C. - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), this week opened an investigation into the Trump Administration's decision to pay nearly $1 billion to TotalEnergies (Total) in exchange for the company abandoning two offshore wind leases and committing to reinvest the funds into traditional oil and gas projects.

On March 23, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and Total announced an agreement under which the U.S. government would pay Total $928 million to relinquish its offshore wind leases and reinvest the funds into U.S. oil and gas development. The two cancelled projects, located off the coasts of New York and North Carolina, would have supplied clean power to over one million homes.

"After losing repeatedly in federal court, it appears that President Trump has turned to another method to kill offshore wind: pay companies like yours to walk away," Ranking Member Whitehouse wrote.

The letter raised several serious legal concerns about the transaction, including the Administration's reported use of the Department of Justice's Judgement Fund. "[T]he agreement between DOI and Total appears to suffer from a lack of legally available or appropriated funding. . . . Established in statute, the Fund exists to pay final judgements, awards, and settlements arising out of legal or administrative actions against the federal government," he continued, but "[t]here is no evidence that Total had filed any claim in any forum against DOI or any other agency of the U.S. government."

Ranking Member Whitehouse also warned of possible violations of the Antideficiency Act, which "prohibits federal agencies from obligating or expending federal funds in advance or in excess of an appropriation. No relevant bureau or office within DOI has sufficient funds to pay Total the nearly $1 billion it has been promised," he continued, and despite suggestions from Total CEO's, "funds originally paid by Total [were] not held separately for Total or offshore wind lessees generally." The agreement presents stark contradictions between Total's public commitments to shareholders and its recent about-face. At the company's May 2025 shareholders' meeting, CEO Patrick Pouyanné "personally 'reaffirm[ed] the relevance and coherence of [Total's] multi-energy integrated strategy'" and noted that "TotalEnergies is staying the course," emphasizing continued investment in low-carbon energies. Yet in announcing the agreement with DOI, Mr. Pouyanné said "the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country's interest" and that investment in U.S. oil and gas "is a more efficient use of capital."

"No matter how much President Trump and his officials may claim that offshore wind is more expensive and less reliable than fossil fuel energy, those claims are simply false," Ranking Member Whitehouse concluded. "It is unfortunate that an energy company like Total that had previously demonstrated a material commitment to the energy transition has now decided to capitulate to a bully."

Ranking Member Whitehouse is requesting documents and information from TotalEnergies by April 23, 2026, including a copy of the written agreement, any prior lawsuits or legal proceedings Total filed against the government related to the leases, Total's role in initiating or negotiating the agreement, all communications between Total and U.S. government agencies involved in the negotiations, and an explanation of Total's accounting treatment of the funds.

The letter to TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné is available here.